Arutz Sheva got the chance to talk with Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference this week, where he talked about the importance of the event.

According to Joel, the conference is a "cementer of Jewish identity" as it brings Jews of all stripes together for several days where they can join together in their concern for the future of Israel and the Jewish people.

"There is from left to right a very deep passionate commitment to netzah Yisrael (the eternity of the Jewish people - ed.) and I think that's a wonderful thing," he said.

Remarking on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's much spoken about Congress address, which was highlighted by tensions with the Obama administration, Joel noted that "to the degree that everybody is focusing on political fireworks it obscures the message and the issue that he wants to make."

That message, he reminded, is the existential threat to Israel and the entire world posed by a nuclear armed Islamic regime of Iran.